Grand-Am Road Racing has announced that Continental Tire will become the title sponsor of the sanctioning body's Sports Car Challenge, which features factory showroom, high-performance sports cars. The series will be officially known as the Grand-Am Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge, beginning Jan. 1, 2010.

The five-year agreement also details a fully integrated sponsorship that includes race entitlements and in-market activation. In addition, Continental Tire becomes the series' exclusive tire supplier.

"This entitlement sponsorship adds an entirely new dimension to our marketing strategy to promote the Continental brand. The exclusive and official tire status will help to emphasize the performance capabilities of the ExtremeContact tire lines," said Bill Caldwell, Vice President of Sales and Marketing, Continental Tire. "Grand-Am Road Racing is one of the highest-caliber racing series in the world, and we are proud and excited to be a part of it. We're looking forward to the start of the 2010 season."

The Grand-Am Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge showcases the latest in international and American-made, high-performance sports cars, coupes and sedans straight from the dealer showroom floor modified for safety. The competition is divided into two classes, Grand Sport and Street Tuner, which usually compete in the same race.

Grand Sport (GS) includes high-performance international exotics from Porsche and BMW which go head to head with American muscle cars from Ford and Chevrolet. Street Tuner (ST) features smaller compact cars including Chevy Cobalt, Mini Cooper, Subaru Legacy, Honda Civic Si, Mazda RX-8 and BMW 330i and, in 2010, will introduce the KIA Forte Koup.